Four additional lanes of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link will open to traffic by March 24, instead of March 16 as scheduled earlier.

Motorists moving from South Mumbai to the suburbs can use the new lanes after March 24 as some final touches are yet to be given to the north carriageway.

It was not opened on Gudi Padwa as planned earlier. Some work like painting, signages, etc remains. It will be opened by March 24  according to the Minister of Public Works Department (public undertakings). The carriageway was to be commissioned by 2009 December but was delayed as work was behind schedule.

Now, the four lanes of the operational carriageway are divided into two each for north- and south-moving traffic, resulting in some accidents. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is pinning its hopes on the carriageway to minimise accidents. There have been no accidents on the sea link for the last few months.

Source : www.indianexpress.com

More Blogs on Bandra Worli Sea Link

Bandra Worli sea link - Damage to the top layer in just 25 days. Bandra worli sea link is opened to public just 25 days ago and the hype over the Bandra Worli Sea Link is starting to wear off, so is the surface of the 5.6-km road.

The surface has started getting damaged with the top layer of bitumen, called the wearing course, coming off at several places. The deteriorating top layer is the first step towards pothole formation.

Bandra worli sea link road surface, laid down using Dutch technology, has been designed to withstand the monsoon and bear high-density traffic. In spite of that, uneven surfaces have appeared at a few spots on bandra worli sea link. More at the Worli-end, merely 25 days after the sea link was opened to traffic.

According to the Chief Engineer, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, The surface is not cracking, It’s uneven at a few spots at the Worli-end. The polymer wearing course is coming off due to traction. They have asked the contractor to look into the matter and resurface it.

More photos, information on Bandra Worli sea link - click here

Car owners believe the amount of fuel saved makes BWSL a cheaper alternative to Mahim Causeway.The Rs 50 toll came into effect from Monday,  but city motorists continue to remain enthusiastic about the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. Many say that it is still cheaper to use the sea link than take the Mahim Causeway, the only other route to south Mumbai.

Actually the travel from Bandra to Worli on the Mahim Causeway in your car , you waste an hour’s time and two litres petrol worth Rs 97. This includes the time and fuel spent while idling at traffic signals. If you take the sea link, you pay only Rs 50 and I reach Worli in eight to 10 minutes. You save time and a lot of fuel and this is significant, with the recent increase in fuel prices.

While the Mahim Causeway route has 23 traffic signals between the Bandra-Worli stretch, the sea link has only four. During peak hours, a return journey via the Mahim Causeway will cost a car owener two hours and Rs 194 for four litres of petrol. On the other hand, a return journey on the sea link takes only 20 minutes. Adding the cost of a two-way toll (Rs 75) and one litre petrol (Rs 47.50), it comes up to only Rs 122.50. A car owner stills saves Rs 71.50.

Time saved

Travel time from Bandra to Worli on the Mahim Causeway route takes approximately 45 minutes during morning peak hours, and an hour in the evening, with vehicles crawling at an average speed of 20 kmph.

With BWSL, a motorist will save the time and fuel he spends idling in traffic jams and signals. A smart driver will drive the car at an optimum speed of 40-50 kmph on BWSL, switch off the engine while waiting at the signal and save fuel.

Well in the first five days when BWSL was toll free, the bridge saw a daily turnout of around one lakh motorists. However, after the toll came into effect, the traffic situation on the bridge, on the Western Express Highway and on Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan road improved tremendously.

More photos, information on Bandra Worli sea link - click here



     Before : toll                                         After : toll

As predicted, the need to pay a toll brought about a smooth drive on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link on Monday. Jams had been endless over the last week, with the ride toll-free.

Monday’s ride was, however, not quite as smooth on roads connecting to the link. This reporter took a cab from Bandra station at 8:53 am and after battling the usual chaos till Lucky Restaurant, reached the sea link toll booth at 9:05 am. The cab crossed over to Worli within four minutes, before the difficulties began.

After leaving the link, vehicles were directed to the junction of the old Passport Office, from where they turned to the Worli sea face route towards Atria Mall and then to Haji Ali, reaching the junction at 9:25 am. After the vehicles pass Haji Ali, Peddar Road is narrower and this causes jams. The Peddar Road journey finally ended near Babulnath Temple chowk at 9.41 am.

The Mahim Causeway journey from 10:20 am saw traffic get stuck at Worli Naka signal and crawl till Haji Ali via Atria Mall. Traffic from the sea link merged with that from the Causeway. The cab reached Haji Ali junction at 11.11 am and was stuck at the signal for four minutes. The narrow Peddar Road again proved troublesome and it took seven minutes from the junction to the end.

(source: Indian Express and photo source : Mid Day)

More photos, information on Bandra Worli sea link - click here

The Bandra-Worli sealink was inaugurated on Tuesday, and it was a most memorable day for all Mumbaikars. Now, we all can race to the suburbs within an hour, but I wonder if there’ll be a bottleneck at the Bandra outlet and the Worli outlet. Just from Worli to Bandra in 8 minutes flat, that’s a record of sorts and the creator of the bridge, Mr Seshadri Sreenivasan, should be given all the support that we can give.  

Traffic is a problem we all encounter and all we can do is, grin and bear it. But this flyover is a novel concept that will relieve a lot of congestion and traffic on the Western Express Highway and SV Road. All congratulations to Mr Sreenivasan for this monumental achievement.  

He must have put in a lot of hard work and various factors like wind speed and wave lengths must have gone into building this bridge. The Bandra Worli sea-link is an architectural marvel and Bombay has got its internationally acclaimed monument. The bridge was supposed to have appeared ages ago, but nevertheless, better late than never! 

Bandra Reclamation is a delight for all Mumbaikars and this is another feather in the cap for all those who reside, not only in Bandra, but all of Mumbai. The Worli-Bandra sea-link will open up new avenues for development so badly needed in the city. Just like the JJ flyover, the bridge will provide a great respite to all the commuters in Mumbai. 

Now, we can visit Linking Road and other parts of Bandra and the Western suburbs easily. Many commuters will complain of the high toll, but I guess that’s just the price you have to pay for a comfortable ride. The bridge was resplendent in all its glory on the eve of its inauguration what with all the pyrotechnics and fireworks. 

More photos, information on Bandra Worli sea link - click here